Remai Modern facts for kids
| Art Gallery of Saskatchewan | |
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Exterior of Remai Modern
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| Established | 9 July 2009 |
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| Location | Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada |
| Type | Art museum |
| Collection size | 8,000+ |
| Architect | Bruce Kuwabara |
The Remai Modern is a public art museum located in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. It sits right by the South Saskatchewan River in the city's downtown area. The museum's building is huge, about 11,582 square meters (124,660 square feet), and was designed by architect Bruce Kuwabara.
Plans for this new art museum started in 2009 when an older gallery, the Mendel Art Gallery, decided not to renovate. So, on July 9, 2009, the new museum was officially created as the Art Gallery of Saskatchewan. In 2016, it was renamed Remai Modern after Ellen Remai, a local businesswoman, donated $30 million. This money helped build the museum and fund its programs. Construction began in 2013 and the museum opened its doors to the public in October 2017.
The museum has a permanent collection of over 8,000 artworks from Canadian and international artists. This includes art from the former Mendel Art Gallery and a special collection of more than 400 linocuts and ceramics by the famous artist Pablo Picasso. Besides showing its own collection, Remai Modern also hosts special exhibitions and traveling art shows.
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History of Remai Modern
The idea for a new modern and contemporary art museum in Saskatoon began around 2009. The Mendel Art Gallery had planned to move to a new spot called River Landing. But in November 2009, the city council decided to build a brand new art museum there instead. The new museum was officially named the Art Gallery of Saskatchewan Inc. on July 9, 2009. Even though it's a new museum, it received the entire art collection from the Mendel Art Gallery when it closed in 2015.
In 2011, Ellen Remai, a very important supporter, donated $15 million for the building costs and another $15 million to help fund international art programs. She also gave the museum a huge collection of Picasso linocuts. Because of her generous donation, the museum decided to rename itself the Remai Art Gallery of Saskatchewan.
The first director and CEO of the museum, Gregory Burke, was chosen in May 2013. Building the museum started on June 7, 2013. Money for the construction came from the Canadian government, the provincial government of Saskatchewan, the city government, and private donors. The total cost to build the museum was over $84 million. In April 2014, the museum changed its name again to Remai Modern Art Gallery of Saskatchewan. It was the first art museum in Canada to specifically focus on modern art in its name.
During the construction, there was a bit of a disagreement involving the museum's Board of Directors. In December 2015, some local artists asked for a board member, John Gormley, to be removed. This was because of some controversial comments he made online. An independent review looked into the matter and found he hadn't broken the museum's rules. However, John Gormley resigned from the board on April 12, 2016.
In June 2016, the museum rebranded one last time to just Remai Modern. Its logo was designed to look like "rRemai mModern". Even though the name changed, the museum is still officially known as the Art Gallery of Saskatchewan Inc.
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The museum officially opened with a special ceremony on October 21, 2017. It included performances by First Nations and Métis artists. On the same day, Remai Modern opened its first exhibition called Field Guide. This show featured artworks from the museum's modern collection, plus 13 important pieces from the original Mendel Art Gallery, including works by famous artists like Lawren Harris and Emily Carr.
Architecture and Design
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The Remai Modern building is located in the River Landing area of downtown Saskatoon, right next to a bend in the South Saskatchewan River. The building was designed by Bruce Kuwabara from KPMB Architects, working with Architecture49. The company EllisDon built the museum.
The building's design was inspired by the "Prairie style" of architecture, which was made famous by Frank Lloyd Wright. The outside of the building looks like the wide-open prairie landscape, with hints of barns, sheds, and silos. It has parts that stick out over the river, called cantilevered sections. The outside is covered in glass and a special copper mesh. This mesh helps block the sun and creates cool shadows as the sun moves across the sky. The copper color was inspired by the roof of the nearby Delta Bessborough hotel. The building is about 11,582 square meters (124,660 square feet) and has four main floors, plus an underground parking area.
The glass walls on the ground floor let visitors see outside easily, connecting the inside with the beautiful outdoors. The "openness" of the prairie is also seen inside, with a tall main area that goes up to the fourth floor. This area has glass walls that look out over the river and even a cozy fireplace. The museum has eleven galleries where art is displayed. It also has a cafe, a restaurant, a gift shop, two learning studios, a 150-seat theater, and a rooftop patio.
Art Collection
As of December 2020, the Remai Modern has over 8,000 artworks in its permanent collection. The museum started collecting modern and contemporary art in 2014. Most of the artworks in the collection were given as gifts, but the museum also buys pieces directly from artists or art dealers.
Some of the artists whose works are part of the Remai Modern's collection include Rebecca Belmore, Eli Bornstein, Georges Braque, Stan Douglas, Brian Jungen, and Haegue Yang.
Mendel Art Collection
The Mendel collection, now known as the Mendel Art Gallery Collection at Remai Modern, was the art collection of the old Mendel Art Gallery. When that gallery closed, Remai Modern received its entire collection. This part of the collection includes older artworks, mostly from the early 1900s. The Mendel collection has about 7,700 works by artists like Emily Carr, Lawren Harris, Cornelius Krieghoff, and murals by William Perehudoff.
Artworks from the Mendel collection have been shown at the museum since it opened in October 2017.
Picasso Art Collection
A very special part of the museum's collection is its Picasso collection, which features ceramics and linocuts by the famous artist Pablo Picasso. In 2012, Ellen Remai donated 405 Picasso linocuts to the museum. These linocuts were valued at $20 million in 2012 and make up the largest collection of Picasso's linocut works in the world! It includes 194 out of the 197 known subjects Picasso created in this style. Besides the linocuts, the collection also has 23 Picasso ceramics, which were donated by Frederick Mulder in 2014. He also gave another linocut to the museum at that time.
Museum Programs
Remai Modern offers many different programs for visitors. Besides seeing the permanent collection and special exhibitions, you can also:
- Watch films
- Attend talks by artists or experts
- Join art programs for students and other visitors
- Take part in offsite art programs
- See live performances like dance, music, and other media
The museum also has many online programs that you can watch on its website and social media channels.
See also
- List of art museums
- List of museums in Saskatchewan
